DARE

“

Never did no harm, never did no harm...

„

DARE (挑戦 chōsen in Japanese) is the twelfth track and second single on Gorillaz' 2005 album, Demon Days. It features vocals by Shaun Ryder and lead vocals provided by Noodle, voiced by Rosie Wilson.

Information

As soon as Demon Days leaked, fans and critics were picking "DARE" as having 'single' written all over it. It was a surprise to nobody when it was plucked from the album to be the follow-up to the smash hit "Feel Good Inc." "DARE" crashed into the UK charts at #1, becoming the first Gorillaz single to do so.

Bonus tracks were spread generously over the 3 formats in the UK, the standouts being the excellent "Highway (Under Construction)" and the early version of "DARE", "People". Several big-name remixers were enlisted to corner every possible DJ angle, resulting in some interesting takes on the song (some of these were available on promos and as legal downloads only).

All in all, "DARE" represented an excellent package for the fans; and with its catchy lines and stunning video, the title song was also a deserved hit worldwide.

Recording

Real Life Backstory

“	So my story is, Damon gets on the beat and he gets the tune going, and I go in and I'm trying to get the cans to get in me ears and go, 'It's going up, It's going up, It's going up,' and then go 'It's THERE!'	„
	~ Shaun Ryder on recording DARE

According to Murdoc in the We Are The Dury interview CD, the band had to change the song's title from "It's There" to "DARE" due to Shaun singing the lyrics incorrectly because of his accent.^[1] This was later partially re-stated by commentator Chris Evans^W during the 2006 BRIT Awards^W, leading to the popular misconception. The name's origin was later debunked by Ryder himself during a Radio X^W interview, stating that there weren't initial lyrics or an initial title to begin with since the chorus was an outtake.^[2] However, an unmastered promo CD of Demon Days can still be found with the track titled "It's There" instead of "DARE".^[3]

Virtual Band Backstory

DARE was created as an ode to the Manchester electronic club scene of the 80s, therefore the band wanted someone from that background to sing it. Murdoc asked if his old friend, Happy Mondays^W singer Shaun Ryder could lay down the vocals for the track one night when they were at a drinking club in Soho. It wasn't until a month later that the band went on to record the song due to both Murdoc and Shaun immediately forgetting the idea, with the only thing reminding Murdoc of the exchange being the bar-bill he found in his pocket from that night.^[4] Similarly to the chorus' real life backstory, Shaun was stuck in the recording booth and couldn't hear the rest of the band. The events that succeeded were described as a 'happy accident' since this was how the song's chorus was created.^[5]

“	When we recorded the original vocal that Shaun did he was stuck in the vocal booth with his headphones on, but he couldn't hear us. So he shouted over to us to turn the headphones up. 'I can't hear myself.. I can't hear myself. Hey! Turn up the headphones, would ya!' So we're turning them up and he's going 'Yes... it's coming up a bit... it's coming up... it's coming up ... it's coming up.... It's there!' It sounded so good that we decided to use that bit for the chorus. And I think you'll find, even by accident, it's actually a killer chorus.	„
	~ Murdoc Niccals, Rise Of The Ogre.

DARE Bananaz Recording Snippet

Music Video

Main Article: DARE (Music Video)

The music video for DARE was released on the 29st of August 2005 along with the single itself. It was directed by Jamie Hewlett & Pete Candeland and was produced/animated by film production company Passion Pictures.

The music video stars Noodle, who re-animates Shaun Ryder's disembodied head in her room and starts singing with him. Russel and 2-D are later seen reacting to the noise coming from her room. The video ends with Shaun Ryder waking up from a dream bedside to Murdoc, telling him to go back to bed. Murdoc later wakes up in his real bedroom alone, revealing that the events of the video might have all been a dream.

Lyrics

^[6]

Single Formats

Release dates and chart positions

• UK: 29/08/05 – highest chart position: 1

• JPN: 07/09/05 – highest chart position: -

• AUS: 05/09/05 - highest chart position: 11

Video

Trivia

• "DARE" is not just Gorillaz's only UK number one single to date, but also Shaun Ryder's. Although he had success in both Happy Mondays and Black Grape, neither band ever had a number one single.
• The song features a sample of Medium Excited Teenage Crowd Take 1 from The Premiere Edition 14 by The Hollywood Edge, which was also used in Daft Punk's "Revolution 909".
  • It is currently unknown if DARE specifically takes Daft Punk's use of Medium Excited Teenage Crowd Take 1 in "Revolution 909", or the direct sample.
• "DARE" is 2-D's favourite song on Demon Days.^[7]

Gallery

References

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